The Tamil Nadu Government has urged the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to issue the Digital Addressable System licence to Arasu Cable TV.
The Digital Addressable System licence is given to operators to operate digital cable TV systems.
The Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation is a public sector undertaking of the Government of Tamil Nadu revived by the Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa last year. It commenced its cable TV services in all 31 districts of Tamil Nadu on September 2, 2011 barring Chennai, which was then a conditional access system area.
Arasu Cable TV provides 100 channels at Rs 70 per month. It has the support of over 23,000 local cable operators with a subscriber base of 60 lakh, said Jayalalithaa in a letter to the Primer Minister Manmohan Singh.
“The people of Tamil Nadu have been freed from the clutches of the erstwhile multi-system operators, who used to fleece them by charging Rs 150–250 per month as subscription for showing just 30-70 channels,” said Jayalalithaa.
Her letter comes at a time when the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has questioned the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India whether governments can enter the broadcasting sector.
The letter also says the Government of India had issued a conditional access system (CAS) licence to the Arasu Cable TV Corporation for Chennai on April 2, 2008 and the CAS services are now in operation. The Government subsequently modified Chennai into a Digital Addressable System area.
“Accordingly, the Arasu Cable TV Corporation has taken to start its operations in the digital mode in Chennai city. It has placed orders for the supply of set-top boxes, conditional access system and subscriber management system and erection of head-end at a cost of about Rs 50 crore.”
Arasu Cable TV had applied to the I&B Ministry for the Digital Addressable System licence on July 5, 2012. Despite representation to the Centre, it is yet to be issued.
“It is learnt that the I&B Ministry has issued the licence to nine other multi-system operators in Tamil Nadu, including those who applied after the Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation…
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has also passed orders that “the process of issue of licence to Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation may go on and the licence may also be issued.”